


Coming Home

by kiki_chu



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Chrom is Unusually Smooth, M/M, Other Units Mentioned Briefly, Post Game, References to Emmeryn's Death, Sentimental
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-08 22:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15253416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiki_chu/pseuds/kiki_chu
Summary: When Robin returns he wonders what, if anything, has changed. Chrom invites him out to show him what has.





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sleigh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleigh/gifts).



For a second when Robin wakes up he feels like he has taken his turn time traveling. Chrom and Lissa are peering down at him just as they had all those years ago, and through some accident they were positioned so the sun burned behind Chrom’s head like a fiery halo.

 

He wonders if he will have to do everything again. If he will have to witness the deaths of hundreds of Ylisseans to war and Plegians to Grima’s revival. Will he have to watch Emmeryn willingly throw herself to her death again and see Chrom and Lissa nearly break themselves over the loss? Will he have to attack Chrom again? How many Robins are in this timeline?

 

_ No _ , he realizes as he reaches out to take Chrom’s hand. Robin’s hand is bare and the mark of Grima is gone. He’s not in some other place with familiar strangers. This is the world he saved, this is his Chrom.

 

He’s slightly older now. Robin isn’t sure if it’s the light or if he actually spots a gray hair. He’s dressed just as ridiculous as ever, too casually for an Exalt and with his brand exposed, telling everyone who he is. He’s not even wearing the heavier armor that had become his usual sometime during the war with Walhart. Robin wonders if Fredrick knows that his liege is out wandering about unprotected and picking up people in fields again.

 

Chrom pulls him up to his feet and straight into a hug, and suddenly Robin’s not thinking very much anymore.

 

“Welcome back.” Chrom whispers in Robin’s ear. “It’s over now.”

 

Robin’s cheek presses against one of the buckles on Chrom’s chest. It’s uncomfortable, but Robin doesn’t feel inclined to move. Chrom smells faintly of sweat, the sun, and the potpourri that Frederick always packs in Chrom’s clothes chests.

 

Then he realises what Chrom is saying. It’s over. No more Grima or ruined future. Robin won’t be responsible for killing his friends and orphaning their children. Chrom is saying it’s over, but what Robin is hearing is that their lives can really start now.

 

“I’m back.”

 

.

 

Robin quickly notices that people he had met before that fateful encounter with the other him react to his return in one of two ways. 

 

The first group of people act as though he had never left. Maribelle is like this. Every once in a while she’ll refer to something that happened while he was gone, and when she realizes what she said her eyes will go wide and she’ll bite her lip and recoil. Robin wants to tell her not to worry, that he’s actually happy that everyone tried to carry on without him because what if he  _ hadn’t _ returned, but he knows doing so will make them feel worse so he overlooks it and changes the subject.

 

The second group of people clings to him. Ricken is like this. His eyes follow Robin around the room, and if Robin stands next to him, Ricken glances over every couple of minutes as though Robin is in danger of disappearing at a moment’s notice. But Chrom is the worst offender.

 

The first night back in the castle Chrom sticks close to Robin’s side. Not touching him but just hovering just within reach of any sudden movement. It takes Robin hours to convince Chrom that they’ll be fine separating long enough for them both to get some rest; Robin feels like he was asleep for a long, long time and he’s maybe all the more exhausted because of it. Chrom does let him go to his room - it’s the same room after all this time, untouched except for the light touch of the castles cleaning staff - only after promising to allow Chrom to take him around town and one last lung-crushing hug.

 

And that’s that as far as Robin is concerned. He thinks that Chrom will calm down given the night to relax get used to Robin having returned. Hopefully tomorrow when they go out Chrom will be less inclined to stick so very close.

 

The next morning, Robin wakes to bright light pouring through his window since he neglected to cover it. Drowsy, he swings his legs over the side of his mattress and knocks Chrom onto his side.

 

“What?”

 

“What!” Chrom is up on one knee, Falchion half drawn.

 

“Chrom, what are you doing in here?”

 

“Ah…” There’s a hiss of steel as Falchion slides back into its sheath.

 

Robin’s door is thrown open and Frederick barges in unarmor but hefting his greataxe.

 

“Milord!”

 

“What’s happening?” Robin can hear Lissa shouting from in the hallway.

 

It’s too early for this.

 

“Everyone get out!”

 

Frederick quickly backs out of the room when Robin shouts, but Chrom takes his time. He gathers the pillow and blanket that he had used to build a little nest on the side of Robin’s bed and then stands up.

 

“You too!”

 

Robin tries pushing Chrom out, but Chrom’s footing is solid and he doesn’t move budge. All Robin gets is the solid, warm feeling of Chrom’s shoulder from beneath the thin fabric of the shirt he had chosen to sleep in.

 

Chrom looks at Robin over his shoulder. There’s a light in his eyes, a little laugh, and Robin feels a warm, floaty feeling ballooning in his chest.

 

“I’ll meet you for breakfast in an hour?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Then Chrom moves, and Robin hands fall without something holding them up. Chrom looks back one time just passing through the doorway.

 

“One hour,” he repeats.

 

Then he’s gone, and Robin flops back onto his bed. He puts his hand over his face. He can feel the heat of his blush, and it reminds him of the warmth of Chrom’s back. Chrom had changed a little in their time apart. Chrom just being there when Robin woke up is something that Robin could have expected, but his calm exit was something very different.

 

Breakfast thankfully passed uneventfully. Out of all their friends only Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick are in the castle at the moment, but Chrom says that they’ll see several of the Shepherds while they’re out.

 

It’s warm so Robin leaves behind his coat, and Chrom is lightly dressed in a way that causes both Frederick and Robin to share a look. Frederick doesn’t volunteer to follow along to Robin’s surprise; another change while Robin’s been absent. He sees them off saying he has things to take care of.

 

The castle town is bustling. Everyone seems to have forgotten the feeling of being at war. Several people call out to Chrom, and they spend more time pausing to talk to the town folk than they do walking. Robin can tell that while while Chrom isn’t as highly revered as Emmeryn, the towns people found him trustworthy and approachable. Their love for their ruler overflows to their reception of Robin, and everyone - even those that Robin had never met before - welcomes him.

 

The blacksmith’s wife, whom Robin and the Shepherds had done extensive business with before, puts her toddler into Robin’s arms. She has an older daughter, born around the time Chrom became Exalt, who she named after Emmeryn. This child was born while Robin was gone.

 

“We called her Clarissa.” The blacksmith’s wife says. “After you, Chrom, and Lissa.”

 

Chrom is hovering over Robin’s shoulder to look at the toddler. He takes off his gloves and strokes Clarissa’s cheek. The child laughs and grabs onto Chrom’s finger with both hands.

 

“She’s cute. Like her other two namesakes.” Chrom says.

 

Robin uses lowering his head to coo at the baby as an excuse to hide his blush from Chrom, and the blacksmith mercifully doesn’t take Clarissa back until Robin is able to calm himself. When they move on to inspect the new housing district Chrom grabs hold of Robin’s hand, not pausing to put his gloves back on, and doesn’t let go even when they visit the orphanage that Libra and Maribelle are running.

 

They have lunch at the barracks with Stahl and Sully and talk about the recent letter they received from Kellam about the progress of his and Donnel farm village restoration project. Then they stop by the Mage University to visit Ricken and Maribelle who is in the middle of an experiment. Chrom didn’t let Robin’s hand go once.

 

The sun is setting by the time they have finished walking the whole town. Chrom brings Robin to an overlook from which they can see the majority of the town. The streets are less busy now that the shadows of night are taking over, but even from a distance Robin can feel the peaceful energy of the citizens living in the castle town.

 

“Is it what you expected?” Chrom asks.

 

“I don’t know what I was expecting.” Robin responds, mouth moving before he thinks. “Maybe that there would be no town and everyone had moved to Regna Ferox?”

 

Chrom laughs. “Ouch. I’m not so bad a governing that all of Ylisse would up and leave. Or at least I have lots of people to depend on while my strategist was absent.”

 

Robin squeezes Chrom’s hand. “You did an excellent job. Everyone seems really happy.”

 

“It’s all because of you, Robin.” 

 

“Sacrificing myself was worth this.”

 

Crom tugs until Robin faces him, gentle despite the immense strength Robin knows he possesses.

 

“Not just that. You taught us how to run the country. Even though you were gone we were able to figure out what we should be doing. We had faith that you would be back.” Chrom closes the distance between them. “I knew you’d return. I remembered how hard you worked to hold things together after...”  He pauses, then continues. “After Em died and we were all grieving. We should’ve been the ones guiding the country, but you had to instead. I didn’t want it to be like that again when you came back. I wanted you to be proud.”

 

“I am.” Robin tries to lighten the mood. “It sort of feels like I shouldn’t have come back since I’m not needed.”

 

Chrom releases Robin’s hand and holds onto Robin’s arms just above his elbows instead. Despite Robin’s intentions, he’s not smiling. “Maybe not needed, but I definitely want you here.”

 

Millions of lines that he could say run through Robin’s head.  _ There’s nowhere I would rather be. Even Grima couldn’t keep me away. You couldn’t get rid of me if you hired an army _ . He can’t say any of them. Robin just nods. Once and then a second time when words continue to fail him. Giving up on speech he just steps into Chrom’s arms and hugs him.

 

“Welcome home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading ♥
> 
> I don't know if I'll write much for FE, but I wanted to express my love a little. Next week should be a HQ fic.


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